Currencies

You might think the currency market is an orderly process for exchanging dollars, yen and euros as trade settles around the world.

Learn why it’s more accurate to think of the currency market as a freewheeling, unregulated and dynamic zone open to interventions, rigging and fixes.

It can lead to all sorts of traps for the unwary investor. Brokers, investment firms, speculators and central banks are all trying to get the market going their way. We try to make sure you’re on the right side of the trade.

Bitcoin futures started trading yesterday morning on an exchange run by Cboe Global Markets Inc. The larger CME Group will launch its own bitcoin futures trading next week. How will this impact the market?

Trading sounds hard to a lot of people. Professionals devise complicated algorithms, computerised models with thousands of inputs, or they work on charts with different indicators feeding into a complex buying or selling processes. Here’s the truth: Markets are actually not hard to understand.

What we are starting to see is a mid-cycle peak. Phil explains that this has happened all throughout history. But most people are likely to mistake it for a market top. When, in reality, it may only be a half-way point.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of the Azraq refugee camp, a blockchain revolution is brewing. For months, aid payments had been delivered to refugees via banking middlemen. Due to the remoteness of the camp, the transaction fees were high, the transfers slow, and the delivery unreliable. But no longer.

The future of money is here. And global markets are getting ready to place their bets. This Sunday, bitcoin’s legitimacy will soar to a new level. The CBOE Group Inc. launches the first cryptocurrency futures contract on Sunday night. The bitcoin market is about to get a whole more interesting.

Sunday, 10 December. Make a note of that day in your diary now. Why? Something big is happening on that day. CBOE Global Markets Inc. will become the first exchange in the world to offer futures on cryptocurrencies. The largest futures exchange in the world, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, will make its debut a week later on 18 December. You know what this tells you? The big money has found its way into cryptos.

Tellingly, nothing is going up like nothing itself… Bitcoin, that is. It’s up tenfold this year. ‘Even Grandma Is In,’ revealed another WSJ headline last week. Gee, who’s left to get in? We wonder. Crazy is what it is. But these are wild and crazy times. And of course, this is just the beginning of the craziness.

Gold has barely reacted to any of the global tensions of late. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has stolen the spotlight. Perhaps it’s become the ‘new’ gold? I doubt it. I’m not concerned about gold’s future. I still believe it will go higher when the time is right. That could happen sooner rather than later.

There is something strange afoot in the markets. I couldn’t tell you what it is. But markets are screaming ahead with no real reason as to why they should be. On the flip side, the crypto market is still only worth US$200 billion. It turns out the ‘big boys in the bubble’ can’t touch it yet. But you can.

The modern system relies on trusting a third-party. That third-party is a central bank or government. Central bankers believe they can engineer asset-price inflation. That is, how much the value of assets goes up. If they control money, they can decide what it’s worth. Cryptocurrencies flip that idea around.

I’m just waiting for the crypto launch that — in addition to its run-of-the-mill magical powers — also promises a cure for cancer or can endow the Donald with humility. Why not? Cryptos can do just about everything else!? Seriously, what a con. There are no earnings. There are no assets. There’s nothing…other than blind belief.

With only a month left in the year, it seems bitcoin and other cryptos don’t have any intention of putting on the brakes. And after all the insane gains and volatile movements of 2017, we are left with two extremely polarised streams of thought.

Testimonial

Just thought I would let you know that whilst I receive countless financial emails daily I view yours as something special. I am not looking for the same old humdrum I am looking for news that is out of left field. Now you guys would be off the planet if you went any further left but it is refreshingly different. I get through the humdrum first and get my mind sorted and save you for last as a check. It is certainly an insane moment in time but I am still finding investment opportunities. Thanks for your comments